The Spine of the World - By R. A. Salvatore Page 0,44
the room, but Micanty, without waiting for Robillard's permission, moved over and closed them out.
"Ye're Deudermont?" the little man asked.
"I am not," the wizard admitted, "but rest assured that I am the closest you will ever get to him."
"Got to see Deudermont," the little man explained.
"What is your name?" the wizard asked.
The little man shook his head. "Just got to tell Deudermont," he said. "But it don't come from me, if ye understand."
Never a patient man, Robillard certainly did not understand. He flicked his finger and sent a bolt of energy into the little man that jolted him backward. "Your name?" he asked again, and when the man hesitated, he hit him with another jolt. "There are many more waiting, I assure you," Robillard said.
The little man turned for the door but got hit in the face with a tremendous magical gust of wind that nearly knocked him over and sent him spinning to again face the wizard.
"Your name?" Robillard asked calmly.
"Josi Puddles," Josi blurted before he could think to create an alias.
Robillard pondered the name for a moment, putting his finger to his chin. He leaned back in his chair and struck a pensive pose. "Do tell me your news, Mister Puddles."
"For Captain Deudermont," an obviously overwhelmed Josi replied. "They're looking to kill 'im. Lots o' money for his head."
"Who?"
"A big man," Josi replied. "Big man named Wulfgar and his friend Morik the Rogue."
Robillard did well to hide his surprise. "And how do you know this?" he asked.
"All on the street know," Josi answered. "Lookin' to kill Deudermont for ten thousand pieces o' gold, so they're sayin'."
"What else?" Robillard demanded, his voice taking on a threatening edge.
Josi shrugged, little eyes darting.
"Why have you come?" Robillard pressed.
"I was thinkin' ye should know," Josi answered. "I know I'd want to be knowin' if people o' Wulfgar's and Morik's reputation was hunting me."
Robillard nodded, then chuckled. "You came to a ship-a pirate hunter-infamous among the most dangerous folk along the docks, to warn a man you have never met, knowing full well that to do so could put you in mortal danger. Your pardon, Mister Puddles, but I sense an inconsistency here."
"I thinked ye should know," Josi said again, lowering his eyes. "That's all."
"I think not," Robillard said calmly. Josi looked back at him, his expression fearful. "How much do you desire?"
Josi's expression turned curious.
"A wiser man would have bargained before offering the information," Robillard explained, "but we are not ungrateful. Will fifty gold pieces suffice?"
"W-well, yes," Josi stuttered, then he said, "Well, no. Not really, I mean. I was thinkin' a hunnerd."
"You are a powerful bargainer, Mister Puddles," Robillard said, and he nodded at Micanty to calm the increasingly agitated sailor. "Your information may well prove valuable, if you aren't lying, of course."
"No, sir, never that!"
"Then a hundred gold it is," Robillard said. "Return tomorrow to speak with Captain Deudermont, and you shall be paid."
Josi glanced all around. "I'm not comin' back, if ye please, Master Robillard," he said.
Robillard chuckled again. "Of course," he replied as he reached into a neck purse. He produced a key and tossed it to Waillan Micanty.
"See to it," he told the man. "You will find the sum in the left locker, bottom. Pay him in pieces of ten. Then escort Mister Puddles from our good ship and send a pair of crewmen along to get him safely off the docks."
Micanty could hardly believe what he was hearing, but he wasn't about to argue with the dangerous wizard. He took Josi Puddles by the arm and left the room.
When he returned a short while later, he found Robillard leaning over his crystal ball, studying the image intently.
"You believe him," Micanty stated. "Enough to pay him without any proof."
"A hundred copper pieces is not so great a sum," Robillard replied.
"Copper?" Micanty replied. "It was gold by my own eyes."
"So it seemed," the wizard explained, "but it was copper, I assure you, and coins that I can trace easily to find our Mister Puddles-to punish him if necessary, or to properly reward him if his information proves true."
"He did not come to us searching for any reward," the observant Micanty remarked. "Nor is he any friend of Captain Deudermont, surely. No, it seems to me that our friend Puddles isn't overly fond of Wulfgar or this Morik fellow."
Robillard glanced in his crystal ball again, then leaned back in his chair, thinking.
"Have you found the captain?" Micanty dared to ask.